You’d heard a lot about the Calgary Hitmen since you started taking classes at the University of Calgary. At first you thought it was some kind of gang, until you remembered: this is Canada, it must have something to do with hockey. Growing up in a non-hockey family in the US, you had never heard of the Western Hockey League, and certainly didn’t know anything about any of the teams in it. So when your friends asked if you wanted to go to a Calgary Hitmen game, they were shocked when you said yes.
Your friends told you all about the team and who to look for, but you’d never been to a hockey game before so none of it really made sense. You tried your best to follow what was happening, and when the game ended you realized you’d actually had fun, despite not understanding the sport.
“Let’s try to meet some of the players,” your friend pulled you toward the back of the arena.
“Are you sure we’re supposed to be over here?” You asked, but she continued walking.
“It’s fine, I do this all the time. Most of the players don’t really talk to you, maybe they’ll sign something for you, but they’re pretty young and not really used to fans and stuff.” She chatted as you winded through halls until you came to what looked like a back exit, and you waited for the first of the players to trickle out of the locker room.
“I feel kind of creepy, are you sure we’re supposed to be here?” You whispered to her as the first few players start coming out.
“Don’t worry about it, just smile,” she said, and flashed a bright smile at the players.
Most of them mumbled a ‘hello’ or something as they walked past, and you felt more and more awkward until one stopped.
“I can tell you’re new,” he said, and you looked up to see he was talking to you.
“This is my first hockey game,” you said shyly, ignoring your friend as she elbowed you.
“I’m just going to leave you two alone,” she whispered loudly and walked away smirking back at you.
You didn’t know what to say, so you looked back at the cute hockey player standing in front of you. He looked like he was about your age, so you tried to think of anything to say to him.
“So, did you enjoy your first game?” He asked, when you were obviously not going to say anything.
“Yes! You played really well, I think,” you added and blushed, having no idea if he’d played well or not.
“Yeah, we had a lot of penalties, but we killed them pretty well, and in the end we got the win…” he trailed off, and realized all of this was going right over your head. “Do you want to maybe get coffee? And talk about something other than hockey?” He added with a laugh.
“I’d love to,” you smiled. “I’m Y/N, by the way.”
“That’s a very beautiful name. I’m Jake. There’s a place just around the corner that has an excellent soy latte.”
“Soy latte’s are my favorite,” you said as you took his outstretched hand and followed him toward the exit.
-Lila
